'He's concerned about his personal milestone': Former NZ star not happy with Virat Kohli

From the last ball finish to the fastest fifty of this edition, the RCB vs LSG match in IPL 2023 produced plenty of talking points. While the cricket fraternity has heavily criticised Dinesh Karthik for failing the gather the ball properly on the last ball, as per commentator Simon Doull, the trail of criticism should reach Virat Kohli as well. Simon Doull is evidently not happy with how Kohli paced his innings. 

In the high-scoring encounter between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants, RCB put on a total of 212 on-board batting first. In the total, Virat Kohli contributed 61 runs and in his innings, he recorded 4 fours and as many sixes. While Kohli's knock set the tone at the top but it became a subject of criticism from Simon Doull. As per the former New Zealand bowler, Virat Kohli had an agile start but later on, in the innings, he went quiet. The commentator pointed out that Kohli took 10 balls to get his fifty from the score of 42. 

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RCB vs LSG: Simon Dull on Virat Kohli

“Kohli started off like a train; he was going hammer and tongs, playing a lot of shots. From 42 to 50, he took ten balls. Concerned about a milestone. I don’t think there’s room for that in this game anymore. You’ve just got to keep going, especially with wickets in hand at that stage. You’ve got to keep going,” Doull said on commentary.

Previously slammed Babar Azam

Simon Doull had previously slammed Babar Azam for his strike rate too. His comments on Azam became a massive controversy in the neighboring country. However, this time he has targeted Kohli and got support from fellow broadcaster Harsha Bhogle. 

Following the culmination of the match, Bhogle tweeted his thoughts on the strike rate presented by the RCB batsmen in the match against LSG, and stated it to be a reason for their loss. "This game confirms everything we have been talking about strike rates. Kohli 61(44), eventual SR of 139 but got 16(15) at the end. Du Plessis 79(46) eventual SR of 172 but was 33(30). Those balls don't come back. And RCB were short in the end. It is not about the eventual SR."

This game confirms everything we have been talking about strike rates. Kohli 61(44), eventual SR of 139 but got 16(15) at the end. Du Plessis 79(46) eventual SR of 172 but was 33(30). Those balls don't come back. And #RCB were short in the end. It is not about the eventual SR.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 10, 2023

This was the second consecutive loss of RCB in the IPL 2023. They are now 7th on the IPL 2023 Points Table. They will now look to get back into winning ways on April 15, when they will be up against Delhi Capitals.